I didn’t know exactly how I was going to make it through three miles. I didn’t know whether my body would cooperate. But what I did know was that I had to try.

Sometimes, trying is the gift.

Sometimes, I do not know what will flow from the tip of my pen until the ink has stained the page. There is mystery in knowing that thoughts and secrets can be withheld or shared from page to page, stanza to stanza.

The children were already buzzing with excitement. Some had never been to Washington. Some had never traveled beyond their own neighborhoods. This time, unlike last year, I also saw familiar faces. That made me smile. Some of the children had grown a few inches taller. Others carried themselves with more confidence. They were no longer simply participants from last year’s trip. They had become returning explorers.

A silk scarf has the unique ability to become whatever you need it to be. Worn around the neck, tied in your hair, wrapped around the handle of a handbag, or styled as a top, it transforms with you.